WORK PLACE ANALYSIS

Analysis of the workplace to minimize risks and hazards or control them.

Hazard

A hazard is a potential for harm. It is an activity or condition that is left uncontrolled and can
result in injury or illness e.g. chemicals, naked wires etc.

Job Hazard Analysis

This is a technique that focuses on job tasks as a way to identify hazards before they occur. It
focusses on the relationship between the worker, the tools, the tasks and the work environment.

Job hazard analysis is important because it helps to avoid hazards, risks and accidents. As the
saying goes, unhealthy employees are unproductive workers and the opposite is true.

Every job has a hazard but it is only the degree of the hazard that differs.

Identifying workplace hazards

In order to identify hazards, you need to ask the following questions;

i) What can go wrong? The answer will depend on the situation and you need to critically think
in order to identify what could go wrong i.e. what is it that can happen?

ii) What are the consequences of whatever it is that might go wrong? is it death?

iii) How could it arise? e.g. a fire; what could cause a fire?

iv) What are other contributing factors? Critically think to notice other contributing factors.

v) How likely is it that the hazard will occur? The safest is to think the likelihood is there and is
high.

HAZARD PREVENTION AND CONTROL

The most effective ways to control or prevent hazards is to put counter measures that will
encounter the specific hazards you have identified, come up with mechanised methods of
controlling and preventing a hazard effectively. To effectively prevent hazards means;

1. Protecting workers from workplace hazards.

2. Preventing injuries, illnesses and incidents.

3. To minimize or eliminate safety and health risks.

4. Providing workers with safe and healthy working conditions

Hierarchy of control

ELIMINATION

SUBSTITUTION

ENGINEERING CONTROL

ADMINISTRATIVE CONTROL

PPE

a) Elimination; here you are eliminating the hazard i.e. Physically removing the hazard if it is
removable from the environment hence it is the most effective control of hazards.

b) Substitution; This involves replacing something that produces hazardous material with
something that is safer i.e. replacing something more hazardous with something less hazardous.
c) Engineering Control; under this method of control, you come up with systems i.e. the work
environments and the jobs are designed in such a way that they eliminate hazards and the
environment is safe including the design of the equipment. You can also enclose the hazard e.g.
the case with generators or simply put a barrier around the hazard.

d) Administrative control; Here you bring in procedures, signs and warning labels i.e. signage
of wet floor, radiation emissions etc. There has to be proper health and safety training about the
hazards. Job rotation can also serve as a hazard control and so can taking breaks at work e.g.to
avoid stress as a hazard. A lockout or quarantine can also be used to control hazards.

e) Personal Protective Equipment (PPE); This is the least effective means of controlling
hazards.

OCCUPATIONAL STRESS MANAGEMENT

Occupational/job stress is the harmful. Physical and emotional responses that occur when the
requirements of the job do not match the capabilities, resources or needs of the workplace. Job
stress can lead to injury and poor/ill health.

Workplace stress is due to the interaction between a person and their work environment. External
factors can also contribute to stress e.g. if an employee has two jobs, family life can also cause
stress. Occupational stress is a condition arising from the interaction of people and their jobs and
characterised by changes within people that force them to deviate from their normal functions.

Causes of Occupational Stress

1. long working hours

2. Unfair treatment at the workplace

3. Office politics

4. Lack of job security

5. Reward system; when the reward system is not clearly defined as to whether it is merit based
pay or performance based pay.
6. Job rotation; if an employee is moved to a job where they lack the skill, they may be stressed.

7. Workplace design

Symptoms of Occupational stress

 Eating disorders
 Constant headaches
 Hair loss
 Irritability
 Muscle aches; due to rapid contractions as a result of stress
 High blood pressure
 Sleeping problems (insomnia)
 Low sex drive
 Sickness or illness
 Easily destructed
 Depression
 Poor judgement
 Catastrophic worries/thoughts e.g. suicidal thoughts
 Absenteeism
 Alcohol abuse and smoking
 Change in personality

Coping Strategies of Occupational Stress

 Time management i.e. Properly plan your activities

 Take a vacation
 Power nap
 Have a social support system at work i.e. People can confide in or talk to.
 The workplace can provide a staff club where people are able to play games, watch TV
etc.
 Counselling services should also be provided by the organisation.
 Practice relaxation techniques like yoga, meditation etc.
 Learn to say “NO” when pre-occupied by/with other tasks.
 Avoid Procrastinating
 Avoid being a perfectionist because it stresses oneself and others trying to meet high
standards.
 Learn to reward yourself; celebrate your own success.
 Learn to set goals i.e. SMART goals
 Be flexible; allow for interactions and disturbances.
 Seize being in denial and accept the situation you are in at that particular time.

ACCIDENT PREVENTION
An accident is an event that is unexpected, unplanned and unwanted or undesirable that
results in harm to people, cause damage to property and loss of life.

Types of Accidents
 Falling
 Electrocution
 Getting stuck e.g.in an elevator
 Inhalation of harmful substances
 Stroke by objects

The Accident Theory

This theory puts human beings between or in the middle of the environment and
equipment/materials.

Person

Environment Equipment

Accidents
 Materials

Causes of Accidents

a) Unsafe practices or acts; for example, going against Standard Operating Procedures.

b) Unsafe working conditions e.g. material, equipment and poor work environment or using
inappropriate or defective safety equipment. A wet floor can also be an unsafe condition, poor
storage of materials, equipment without proper safety condition, sharp-pointed metals too.

Prevention of Accidents

1. To prevent accidents you need to maintain safe behaviours and maintenance of safe work
environment, equipment and materials.

2. Train the people on safety

3. Give employees proper Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)

How to control Unsafe Acts

1. Financial rewards; reward people for exhibiting safety behaviour

2. Promotion; promote employees exhibiting safe acts

3. Give employees extra work i.e. job enlargement

4. Train employees on safety requirements

5. Provide welfare activities e.g. Health facilities, counselling services etc.

6. Risk assessment should be done to the environment

7. Include employees in decision making processes.

8. Introduce safe systems of work i.e. Standard Operating Procedures to ensure safety

9. Discipline employees who do not follow safe acts.

REPORTING ACCIDENTS AND INCIDENTS AT THE WORKPLACE

The law requires that accidents are reported for purposes of record-keeping. It is a legal
requirement. Accidents that require to be reported include;

 Work related accidents which cause death.

 Work related accidents which cause serious injuries e.g. breaking of limbs.
 Diagnosed cases of certain industrial diseases e.g. Bronchitis, Tuberculosis (T.B) and
other unseen conditions.
 Certain dangerous occurrences; those occurrences or incidents that have a potential to
cause harm e.g.an electrical fault.

National Laws should stipulate the following;

1.The reporting of occupational illnesses, diseases, accidents and injuries to relevant authorities.

2. Must provide standard procedures for reporting and investigating fatal accidents.

3. Must also provide for the compilation and publication of statistics, accidents, occupational
diseases, injuries and incidents.

 The responsibility to report accidents, injuries, incidents etc. Lies with the employer and
must be done within a given number of days mostly 3 to 4 days.

Benefits of Record Keeping

a) The company is able to assess or determine the economic impact of accidents i.e. time
lost because of accidents and injuries in terms of production, damage to machinery,
wastage of raw materials and amount of money spent on compensating victims of
accidents.
 b) The company is able to identify high risk occupations/jobs in the organisation and be able
to come up with counter measures of controlling the identified risks.
c) An accident free organisation enhances worker morale. It also improves worker-
management relationships which then leads to improved productivity.
d) The public image of the company or organisation improves if there are few or no
accidents.
e) The company will have nothing to fear when auditors come through to inspect its work
premises.

OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH SERVICES

These are services entrusted with preventive functions or measures. The main aim of these health
services is to protect and promote the health of workers, improve working conditions and the
working environment. The other aim is to maintain the health of the enterprise as a whole. These
health services are responsible for advising the employers, employees and their representatives
on the following;

1. The requirements for establishing and maintaining a safe and healthy working environment
which will facilitate optimal physical and mental health.

2. To advise workers, representatives and employers on the adaptation of wok to the capabilities
of workers in light of their mental and physical state or health e.g. physically challenged
employees.

3. Countries should develop occupational health services for all workers i.e.at national and
enterprise levels. These must include workers in the public, private, informal sectors and self-
employed workers.

Occupational health services require a multi-disciplinary kind of team that can focus on specific
hazards and all the possible hazards in the organisation. They should be specialists and must
recommend and offer training on a regular basis. They must also keep themselves updated with
any changes in the work environment and due to competition they must be innovative.
FUNCTIONS OF OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH SERVICES

1. Identify and assess the risks from health hazards in the workplace or organization.

2. Watch for factors in the work environment and working practices that may affect the health of
the workers e.g. canteens, housing units.

3. Participate in the development of programmes that are aimed at improving work practices
which are always changing.

4. Monitor workers’ health in relation to work i.e. give workers regular health check-ups so that
once a sickness or illness is identified, remedies can be undertaken.

5. Organize first aid and emergency treatment.

6. To make sure that work is adapted to the worker i.e. the work should be within the workers’
physical and mental capabilities.

7. Collaborate in providing training and education in Occupational Safety and Health(OSH).

FIRST AID

First Aid means the immediate measures taken at a site of an accident by a person who may not
be a medical physician but who is trained in first aid i.e. before the accident victim is taken to the
hospital.

First Aid has 3Ps

 P-Preserve life i.e. maintain life before treatment is given

 P-Prevent further injury
 P-Promote recovery

ACCIDENT INVESTIGATION

Accidents ought to be investigated i.e. fatal accidents; those that can cause death or serious
injuries like breaking of a bone, loss of sight, loss of limb, third degree burns, unconsciousness
resulting from head injury, electrical shocks or falling. Any injuries resulting into paralysis or
hospitalization or time away from work etc.
Why do we investigate accidents?

1. To determine the cause/causes of the accident.

2. To identify any unsafe conditions, acts or procedures.

3. To help management to identify practical corrective actions.

4. To determine whether due diligence was observed. That is if all necessary measures were
taken to prevent the accident.

5. Show the commitment of management that an adequate investigation system is in place.

 The purpose of an investigation is not to blame individuals but to establish what caused
the accident. Information recorded from the investigation should be kept (Record-
Keeping).

UNDERLYING PRINCIPLES OF ACCIDENTS

1. Accidents do not just happen; they are caused by something.

2. Accidents can be prevented if causes are eliminated.

3. Causes can be eliminated if the accidents can be investigated properly.

4. Unless the causes are eliminated, the same situation will re-occur.

What should be included in the investigation procedure?

i). The objective of your investigation; which is to find and correct the root causes of the
accident.

ii). Who investigated what accident? Not everyone can carry out the investigation.

iii). Who receives the written investigation report?

iv). Who must fix the defects found during an investigation?

v). Who follows up on the corrective actions? who follows up the recommendations pointed out?

vi). Who keeps the record?

Steps in investigation
 Preparation; there has to be very little time between the accident and the commencement
of the investigation.
 Safety equipment i.e. protective clothing, camera, flashlight, gloves etc.
 Avoid jumping into conclusion, biasness and minimise stressing yourself.
 Visiting the accident scene; take control of the situation and make the area safe for
yourself and others too.
 If the accident victims are still, there; take care of the injured by administering first aid
before the medical team arrives.